Spring Grove graduate Hali Flickinger, a sophomore, swims for the University of Georgia women's team. Last season, she helped the Lady Bulldogs win their fifth NCAA championship. (Photo courtesy of Jack Lewis)

Hali Flickinger (Submitted)

Athens, Ga., is a long way from Spring Grove but so are places like Peru, Germany and Russia.

Sophomore Hali Flickinger is a world traveler when it comes to swimming. Right now, she's a standout performer with the University of Georgia women's team.

Flickinger made visits to Georgia, the University of Florida and the University of Texas -- three powerhouse women's swim teams. She decided on Georgia and helped the Lady Bulldogs to an NCAA championship, its fifth title, in her freshman season last year.

"I never had one college in mind," Flickinger said. "I felt that once you visited a college, you would know right away. That is what happened to me."

Jack Bauerle knew all about Flickinger. He's been coaching the women's team at Georgia for 35 years but is a Pennsylvania native from Glenside.

"I've always been aware of the good swimmers in the state," he said. "When I first saw Hali, I like the way she raced, and I thought right away that she was tough."

Flickinger was named to the Southeast Conference All-Freshman team. She placed fourth in the 200 butterfly, fifth in the 400 individual medley and 17th in the 200 individual medley at the league championship. In the NCAAs, she finished 13th in the 200 butterfly and 14th in the 400 IM.

"I definitely have a lot to improve on now after getting the feel for both meets," she said. "My goals are to be on the podium at the SECs and A final in both the 400 IM and 200 fly at the NCAAs."

Advertisement

Before her freshman season at Georgia, Flickinger competed in the FINA (Federation Internationale De Natation) World Junior Championships in Peru, Germany and Russia and won silver medals in the 400 IM and 800 freestyle in Russia in 2011. In 2012, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in the 400 free, the 200 back, the 200 fly and the 200 and 400 IM.

"I feel those experiences helped me a lot at Georgia, mainly because every day in practice I'm surrounded by teammates that have the experience or even more experience than I have, and we all have high expectations and goals" she said. "I'm very blessed to be a part of such an incredible team."

While in high school, Flickinger competed for the York YMCA Aquatic Club, and both she and Bauerle give credit for her development to club coach Michael Brooks.

"Hali was in a well-run program," Bauerle said. "Mike has his kids prepared for the rigors of college swimming. It's not a shock to their systems when they continue at the college level."

Flickinger feels that without the guidance of Brooks, she wouldn't be where she is today.

"Michael was always there to push me through every single workout, even those workouts I didn't think I would come out alive," she said. "He always believed that I could do it. He also taught me discipline that is helping me a lot through my college career both in the water and out."

Flickinger, a biology major, has done well in the classroom, too. As a freshman, she was named a first team Scholar All-American by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and was named to Georgia's Athletic Director's honor roll.

"It's pretty challenging mainly due to the issue of managing your time," she said. "School and swimming are both very demanding, and you always have to be on top of things and plan ahead."

The SEC Championships are Feb. 18-22 in Athens, and the NCAA Division I Women's Championships are March 20-22 in Minneapolis, Minn.

"Hali is versatile and a really good racer," Bauerle said. "She's already much better than she was last year when she was an integral part of our success in the championships. She is getting better and better, and she's also gaining confidence, which is the last frontier of being great. That's starting to come pretty fast for her, but I think her best is yet to come."